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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24569464">Changing Our Destiny: Into The Garden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulSlayer/pseuds/SoulSlayer'>SoulSlayer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Changing Our Destiny - Season 1 (A Destiny AU) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Destiny (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:47:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24569464</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulSlayer/pseuds/SoulSlayer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With a now charged gate key in hand, Fireteam Paralight are prepping to enter the Black Garden and destroy its heart. But trouble in Old Russia puts a delay in the plans, and when it seems that the garden may be more than the team bargained for, will they even stand a chance?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Changing Our Destiny - Season 1 (A Destiny AU) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Kingdom of Rogues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With a now charged gate key in hand, Fireteam Paralight are prepping to enter the Black Garden and destroy its heart. But trouble in Old Russia puts a delay in their plans...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t get me wrong, I love doing patrols as much as the next Guardian. But why did we have to be assigned one right before we go do the Black Garden?!”</p><p>Three jumpships containing Fireteam Paralight, soared through the skies of Earth towards Old Russia. It had been a week since they defeated the Vex Gate Lord and Blaze regained her memories. Each of the team members had been preparing for the Black Garden mission in their own way. Adam had been taking part in the Crucible to increase his skills and learn from other Guardians’ fighting style. Blaze had been writing down notes on what she remembered of the Black Garden from her previous life, occasionally contacting Uldren through Firefly for any extra information (and totally not just to say hi and see how he was doing…). Rae had been training with Ikora. While she hadn’t disclosed any information with her teammates, she says she’s learned something that she’s excited to show them, but it’s a surprise.</p><p>“Think of it this way.” Rae began, “This will be good prep for the Garden. We can work on team strategies and see what works best.”</p><p>“What’s this mission anyways?” Blaze asked, “I wasn’t paying attention.”</p><p>“What else is new?” Rae chuckled. “The Vanguard have received reports from patrolling Guardians of a group of unknown hostiles attacking them.” Ghost spoke up, “Nobody knows who they are or why they’re attacking Guardians. All we know is that they’re mainly located near the Cosmodrome and they’re hostile towards Guardians, Hive and Eliksni. And that’s where we come in. Our job is to find their base of operations and get whatever intel we can on them, while trying to avoid any conflict.”</p><p>“And this group isn’t Eliksni or Hive?” Rae asked. “No. This is what makes it interesting however.” Ghost replied, “Some reports state that they saw these unknown hostiles using abilities identical to the ones possessed by Hunters, Warlocks and Titans.”</p><p>“Wait. Are you saying these guys are Guardians?” Blaze piped up, “Why would Guardians attack other Guardians?”</p><p>“Some Guardians don’t share the same beliefs as those in the Tower.” Stormbringer replied, “Some go rogue and do their own thing. They usually stay out of the affairs of other Guardians, so it’s very strange that they would attack other Guardians out of nowhere.”</p><p>“Well only one way to find out.” Rae began, “Paralight, prepare to touch down in Old Russia.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The three Guardians sped across the Mothyards on their Sparrows, Blaze speeding up the wings of the old aircrafts and preforming mid-air tricks, “Whooo! Whoo-hoo-hoo!”</p><p>“Blaze, be careful!” Rae called out as Blaze sped towards a wing leading up to the cliffs. “C’mon! I’m always-OH SH-!!”</p><p>As Blaze sped up the wing and blasted into the air, her Sparrow flipped, tossing its Guardian into the air. Blaze went face first into the cliff wall, followed by her Sparrow which fell on top of her.</p><p>“That looked painful.” Ghost winced as Rae and Adam ground to a halt on their Sparrows. “Blaze! Are you ok?!” Rae called.</p><p>…</p><p>“Blaze!?”</p><p>…</p><p>Firefly sighed, “I got her.” Rae watched as Firefly appeared beside Blaze and began to scan Blaze’s body. Rae heard a gasp over her communicator as she saw the Sparrow get shoved aside and an arm shoot up, giving a thumbs up, “Nailed it!”</p><p>Adam facepalmed as Rae just shook her head with a sigh that was a mix of relief and exasperation. “Anyway, we’re close to where most of the reports say the attacks happened.” Ghost spoke, “They say the attacks happened in the valley between the Mothyards and the Forgotten Shore.”</p><p>“Alright. Let’s stay up on the cliff edges and keep an eye out down below.” Rae ordered, “Stay out of sight and silent. Remember, we were told to avoid conflict with these hostiles.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am!” Blaze responded. Adam gave Rae a thumbs up in response. The three hopped off their Sparrows and begin to climb up the cliff-side.</p><p> </p><p>The Guardians carefully made their way across the cliff edge, keeping an eye out below. Rae suddenly stopped and held up her hand, signalling for the team to stop, before motioning to the valley below. The Guardians gazed down and saw groups of human, Exos and Awoken. What stood out, however, was that some of their outfits bared resemblance to Warlock, Titan and Hunter armour. “Looks like the reports were right.” Blaze whispered, “They’re Guardians.”</p><p>“It still doesn’t explain why they’d attack other Guardians. It makes no sense.” Rae added.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s crazy. Insane even!”</p><p>The three Guardians froze up as a voice spoke up from behind. Rae began to turn around but before she could get a good look at the figure, she felt something impact her chest and went tumbling into the valley below. “Rae-UGH!!” Rae heard Blaze yelp before seeing her and Adam come tumbling down as well. Mocking laughter erupted from the group in the valley as they stared at the Guardians.</p><p>“Hah! That was hilarious!”</p><p>“Did you idiots really think we wouldn’t notice you?”</p><p>“Man, Tower Guardians are dumber than Thralls!”</p><p>Rae got to her feet and looked up to where she and her teammates fell to see a cloaked figure staring down at them. Rae was now able to get a better look at the mysterious woman. She had a brown hooded cloak that hid most of her hair except for a bit of black and periwinkle bangs that stuck out. A pair of opaque pink and light grey goggles and a purple and dark pinkish-purple bandanna, with a strange symbol on it, covered most of her face, but Rae could make out tanned skin. Under her cloak, the figure wore a short tunic of sorts, which had short sleeves, that matched her bandanna over a black one-piece suit and had matching boots with metal soles – which explains why Rae getting a kick to the chest hurt more than usual, now that she thinks about it. She had metal pauldron on each shoulder and black gloves. On her waist, over the tunic, were three brown leather belts – one with two small pockets, one with a larger pocket, and one with a pouch that was closed and attached to the belt by a dark pinkish-purple string.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha! Well, well, well…check out this menagerie of Guardians! A human Titan, an Awoken Hunter…” the figure cut herself off. She took a knee and leaned down a bit, as if to get a better look at Rae, “…and a Paralian Warlock? Well you don’t see that every day, huh?”</p><p>“You…know about Paralians?” Rae began. “Of course! Tribe Fang, right? I can tell by the mark.” The figure replied with a laugh, “You as stuck up like the rest of that tribe and think the mark is your soul or somethin’? Or you just saving it for a special somebody?”</p><p>“Wha-? What do you-? Stuck up?!” Rae shook her head in frustration. “What does she mean ‘Tribe Fang’?” Blaze asked.</p><p>“You kept your friends out of the loop? Well, I guess it’s up to lil’ ol’ me to fill ya in.” The figure shrugged, “Earth’s tribe is Fang, Venus’s is Tail, Mars is Claw-”</p><p>The mention of Mars caused the crowd of Guardians to cheer, confusing the three friends. “Alright, alright, settle down!” The figure chuckled, “Saturn is Horn, Mercury is Eye and Jupiter is Scale. Or was. Most of them have been wiped out by Cabal, Vex, Fallen and whatever weirdos ended up there during the collapse.”</p><p>“How do you know so much about the Paralians?” Rae asked, suspicious, “There are no written sources of them, and most tribes weren’t exactly open to outsiders.”</p><p>The figure just chuckled, “What can I say? It takes one…”</p><p>The figure pulled down her hood, letting long black hair cascade down her back, two periwinkle bangs near her forehead. There was also a silver earring on her left ear with an purple crystal in the centre. She removed her goggles and bandanna, revealing a cocky smirk, three large scars on the side of her chin and bright pink eyes. But what stood out most was a claw-shaped mark with small dots on it just below her left eye.</p><p>“…to know one.” She finished.</p><p>“What the...?” Blaze mouthed. Adam seemed just as shocked as his teammate while Rae stared wide-eyed at the figure, “No...no way…”</p><p>The figure laughed, “Yeah way!” She front-flipped off the cliff and landed in front of Rae, “Y’know…I’ve heard a lot about you three. Fireteam Paralight, right? Defeated an Archon, took on an Ogre…and I believe your Awoken friend here took down a Vex Gate Lord with her bare hands! Now ain’t that somethin’? But let me ask you…did you really think you were the first Paralian Guardian? Granted, there aren’t many of us left, and you may be the first Warlock. But no, no, no…you ain’t the first.” The woman pointed at herself with her thumb, an over-confident smirk on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m Marcia Wyverk. The first Paragonialan Guardian and Queen of the Umbrialyx: the Kingdom of Rogues.”</p><p> </p><p class="italic underline">
  <em>To Be Continued…</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Sunlight & Hellfire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rae and friends discuss the Umbrialyx's attacks on Guardians with Marcia Wyverk - leader of the Umbrialyx and the first Paralian Guardian. However, things take a sudden turn...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="post-full-content">
  <p></p>
  <div class="post-content-toggle">
    <p>The three Guardians stared at the Lightbearer in shock as Marcia chuckled, “Heh, the looks on your faces are priceless!”</p>
    <p>“The first Paralian Guardian…?” Rae muttered, still in shock. “No way!” Blaze glared at Marcia, “If you were the first, the Vanguard would’ve mentioned it when they saw Rae!” Marcia’s expression dropped to a frown upon the mention of the Vanguard, “Ugh. You Guardians are so annoying. When you’re not yapping about your Traveller, it’s the damn Vanguard.” Marcia growled, “And of course they wouldn’t mention me. There's been new Vanguards since I've been there. Hell, they're probably glad their little problem is gone.”</p>
    <p>“’Problem’?” Rae asked. Marcia shook her head, “It doesn’t matter! What matters is that you three are on our turf." Marcia narrowed her eyes at the trio before her, "So what do you want?” Rae stepped forward, “We’ve received reports from other Guardians that they are being attacked by other Guardians down here. And by the looks of it,” Rae motioned to the rogues around her, “You all are more than likely the culprits.”</p>
    <p>“Eh?” Marcia seemed genuinely confused before calling out, “Hey! This true? Who’s been attacking the Tower-Huggers?” It was silent for a bit before a small group stepped forward, raising their hands sheepishly. “Uh…in our defense, we were just havin’ some fun.” One of them said. Marcia sighed in frustration, “Oh for- dammit, Jerry! I told you before: if they don’t trespass or attack us, we don’t attack them!”</p>
    <p>“Sorry, your highness.” Jerry apologised, the rest of his group following suit.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Marcia let out a frustrated sigh, “I'm sorry 'bout them. They're new to the group. We usually stay out of you Tower-Huggers’ business. Tell your Vanguard that it won’t happen again.”</p>
    <p>"Will do." Rae replied, removing her helmet with the rest of her Fireteam following suit, "My name's Rae Drakyx. That's Adam and this is-"</p>
    <p>"YOU!!!" Rae was cut off by Marcia shoving the Warlock aside as she tackled Blaze to the ground and aiming a Shadowshot bow directly at her. "W-wha-?!" Blaze stuttered but was interrupted by Marcia, "Move an inch and you're dead!" Marcia's expression had darkened and Blaze couldn't help but notice that her pupils where now slits like a lizard's. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Rae exclaimed. Adam noticed the rest of the rogues fearfully hide within the caves. “Saving your butt, that’s what.” Marcia growled, not taking her eyes off Blaze, as she then addressed the Awoken, “Do you really think I wouldn’t know a Phyonysian when I see one?”</p>
    <p>“A…a what?” Blaze stuttered, confused. “Hm…guess you forgot when you were revived…” Marcia muttered, “Either way, I ain't taking any risks. I’m extinguishing this lil’ brat before she kills us all.”</p>
    <p>Marcia pulled back on the bowstring.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p class="bolder">
      <strong>*KA-BOOM!!!*</strong>
    </p>
    <p>“ARGH!!!”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>A small yet powerful explosion sent Marcia flying sideways into the cliff wall as Blaze shielded her face from the blast. Marcia slowly got to her feet, her clothes slightly scorched, and glared at the source of the explosion. Rae stood there with a stern expression and her arm extended. Rae glared at Marcia as she spoke, her voice unsettling calm, “Back. Off.”</p>
    <p>“Solar energy?” Blaze muttered in shock, glancing between the Solar Grenade, that was still shining bright on the ground, and Rae. “I was going to leave it as a surprise for when we go to the Black Garden, but I had to stop this.” Rae replied, her gaze never leaving Marcia who was glaring back with a mixed look of impressed yet frustrated, “Ikora has been training me in the path of the Sunsinger.”</p>
    <p>‘Of course her Vanguard’s Ikora Rey.’ Marcia thought to herself, ‘I lost count of all the times she destroyed me in the Crucible…’ Marcia chuckled darkly, "Not bad. Ain't everyday someone manages to catch me off-guard. But bear in mind, I've been in this profession for nearly a thousand years." Marcia suddenly threw a cloud of smoke towards the three Guardians before turning invisible, “Catch me if you can!”</p>
    <p>“Ugh! Where’d she go?” Blaze yelled out, trying to swat the smoke away. Rae glanced around searching for any sign of the Nightstalker when she saw the smoke in front of her be disturbed by something as it swirled around. “Got you!!” Rae yelled as she lunged at Marcia and gripped at her arm, activating Scorch. Marcia cried out in pain as the invisibility ran out.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“Not bad, punk! Let's have a chat.” Marcia used her other arm to create a wall of void energy that separated her and Rae from Blaze and Adam. “Now tell me, why the hell are you defending that killer?” Marcia growled as she ripped her arm from Rae’s grasp, “She’ll burn you to a crisp like they've done to so many of us!”</p>
    <p>“What in the name of Light are you on about?!” Rae exclaimed, “You were cool with us one moment and then you were about to impale my friend's head with a void arrow!”</p>
    <p>“You really don’t know, do you? I can't tell if it's the memory loss or if you're just dense.” Marcia glared at the Warlock, “Your ‘friend’ is a Phyonysian – warriors chosen by the deity of sealed fate and hellfire known as Phyonys. Phyonys was born from the same Light as Paragon until she decided to ally herself with the Darkness and all of her followers followed suit, destroying every Paralian that got in her way with the powers Phyonys granted them. Paragon was able to seal Phyonys away in the Astral Planes, but still manages to recruit people to her cause. Don’t you get it? She’ll destroy you as soon as it’s in her best interests. I’m doing you a favour!”</p>
    <p>“That’s not true!” Rae exclaimed, “Blaze isn’t like that! Even in her past life, her top priority was to protect her fellow Awoken!”</p>
    <p>“Past life? She has her memories too?” Marcia muttered, seeming surprised. “‘Too’?” Rae asked, confused, but was cut off by Blaze double jumping over the wall, Golden Gun activated as she landed between Marcia and Rae, aiming her sidearm - a ruby red, custom made gun that had a fiery-coloured feather dangling from the handle nicknamed Firelight - at Marcia, “Listen here! I don’t care if you’re the queen of the Traveller-damn universe. If you ever hurt Rae or any of my friends, I will fill you with so many bullet holes that you’ll become the queen of Swiss cheese!”</p>
    <p>“Wow, that one-liner is just under mediocre.” Marcia rolled her eyes.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>She glanced between Rae and Blaze, contemplating something before letting out an exasperated sigh, “Y’know what? I’ve better things to do than fighting a bunch of Kinderguardians. You got your apology. If you’re sure this one’s trustworthy, fine. But don’t come crying to me when she stabs you in the back. Now get outta here before I change my policy and let my rogues have at you.” Marcia let the Voidwall fizzle out - revealing Adam on the other side with pulse rifle in hand - before walking off muttering something under her breath.</p>
    <p>“Well…that was something.” Ghost piped up, a little shaken. “Who’s she callin’ mediocre?” Blaze growled. “Leave her be.” Rae placed a hand on Blaze’s shoulder, “We need to focus on the Black Garden, not her. Let’s head back, report to the Vanguard, and get ready for the mission. We leave at daybreak.”</p>
    <p>“Roger that.” Blaze sighed, with Adam nodding hesitantly, carefully watching Marcia walk away. Rae gave one more glance at Marcia before getting on her Sparrow. "Everything alright?" Ghost asked. "There's something...off about her." Rae replied before shaking her head, pushing the thought out of her mind, "We'll deal with it later. Let's regroup at the Tower and get prepped for the Black Garden."</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p class="italic underline">
      <em>To Be Continued…</em>
    </p>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. When Darkness Creeps In...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s finally time. Fireteam Paralight are stocked up and ready to face the Black Garden and destroy its Heart once and for all. But as these three have realised from all of their past endeavours, it’s always easier said than done…</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="post-full-content">
  <p></p>
  <div class="post-content-toggle">
    <p>“Weapons?”</p>
    <p>“Check!”</p>
    <p>“Spares?”</p>
    <p>“Check!”</p>
    <p>“Extra ammo?”</p>
    <p>“Check! I’ve been running out of ammo too easily, so I’m fully stocked!”</p>
    <p>“Gate Lord eye?”</p>
    <p>“Fully charged and ready!”</p>
    <p>"Mental images of your boyfriend?"</p>
    <p>"He looks- HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!"</p>
    <p>Rae laughed as she and Blaze went through a checklist while Adam double checked the team’s inventory. “Alright, I think that’s it!” Rae smiled, “Unless I’m missing anything, Adam?” Adam shook his head and gave her a thumbs up. “A’ight all, gather around your tour guide!” Blaze grinned as her teammates gathered beside her, “Ok, here’s what I remember about the Black Garden. It gives off the appearance of organic life, but everything there is machine. Almost like computers and wires and stuff. Flowers? Machines. Bugs? Machines. Vex? Do I even need to say it? But here’s the interesting thing. Anything organic there goes through an accelerated growth there. When Uldren, Jolyon and I were there, we noticed things like our nails begin to grow at exceptional rates. Gross, I know. Also, don’t stay still for too long. We made that mistake when we were sheltering from the rain and Jolyon ended up with a wrist covered in vines with sharp teeth things. Not fun.”</p>
    <p>“Right.” Rae nodded, taking in the information, “Any idea where the Heart would be?”</p>
    <p>“I don't recall…some of the memories are still fuzzy...” Blaze began, “But I do remember seeing this henge of Goblins and Minotaurs. I feel like it’d be the best place to start.”</p>
    <p>“Alright then.” Rae nodded, “Let’s pack up and hit the skies. We’re ending this today!”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <hr/>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“I don’t think we’ll get a second chance at this.” Ghost spoke as the three Guardians soared towards the Martian Barrens in their jumpships, “We pull this off, we can save the Traveller. If not, the Vex will seize our worlds.”</p>
    <p>“Which means failure isn’t an option this time.” Rae added. “When is it ever?” Blaze added.</p>
    <p>“Good point. Next stop, Valley of Kings!”</p>
    <p>The ships landed in the Barrens as the three friends transmatted onto the sandy landscape of Mars. “How’s the eye doing, Firefly?” Blaze asked as she summoned her Sparrow and hopped on. “Still charged! Let’s find that gate!”</p>
    <p>“The Vex are going to do everything they can to keep us out of the Black Garden.” Stormbringer muttered. “Then we gotta do everything we can to get in.” Rae grinned, “Let’s go!”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <hr/>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“Ok…Storm wasn’t kidding about the Vex!” Blaze panted as she finished off a Harpy. “I think that’s the last of them.” Rae called out, “Let’s open the Gate.”</p>
    <p>“I hope this works!” Ghost muttered as pulses of energy began to show within the Gate’s frame. “Together?” Rae asked, holding her hands up. “Together!” Blaze nodded as she took Rae’s hand while Adam took the other. “For the Traveller. Ready?” Rae began, “1…2…3!”</p>
    <p>“FOR THE TRAVELLER!!!” Rae and Blaze and the Ghosts yelled in unison as the three Guardians ran through the Gate. A flash of light engulfed their vision before clearing to reveal a cave system with ruins and patches of greenery around them. “Whoa…where are we?” Firefly asked in awe. “If we’re in the Black Garden, it’s not on any map of known space and time.” Ghost replied. “I guess we just keep going then.” Stormbringer added. The trio of Guardians and their Ghosts made their way through the caves of the Garden, when Rae noticed Blaze was glancing all around her with an odd expression, “You okay, Blaze?”</p>
    <p>“Yeah.” Blaze replied, “Just having a serious case of deja vu.” As Blaze said this, Adam – who was ahead of the group – suddenly stopped and reached for his pulse rifle out of instinct before dropping his guard again. “What’s up, bud?” Blaze peered in front of Adam to see what he was looking at. Vex Goblins. But they seemed to be standing completely still, offline, and covered in moss and vines. “They’re in some kind of stasis.” Ghost noted, “Were they like this when you were here?”</p>
    <p>“Yep.” Blaze replied, “But they were also still some that were still online as well. Keep your guard up.”</p>
    <p>“Roger that.” Rae replied, keeping her auto-rifle at the ready as Adam kept his pulse rifle out and Blaze took out her sidearm, “Let’s press on forward.”</p>
    <p>As they walked forward, Blaze noticed a Goblin arm lying on the ground. Her eyes lit up as the grabbed it and silently sneaked up behind Rae before placing the hand on the Warlock's shoulder, "Hey, Rae. Need a hand?"</p>
    <p>Blaze laughed as Rae jumped, letting out a yelp in the process before realising it was just Blaze. "Haha! Oh my Light, Jol had the exact same reaction!" Blaze laughed, "Oh, you would've gotten along great with him!"</p>
    <p>"Very funny." Rae rolled her eyes, giving Blaze a nudge, before continuing forward.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>After battling through a few Vex, the Guardians emerged from the cave to find a staircase leading down into the Black Garden itself. Something about the view made Rae feel uneasy. “Yep.” Blaze spoke up, breaking the silence, “This is the Black Garden alright.”</p>
    <p>“There’s something extremely dark down below.” Ghost began, “I think we have found the Black Garden’s heart.”</p>
    <p>“Something tells me we’re not gonna be able to stroll right up to it, are we?” Rae asked. “More than likely.” Blaze replied, “Once we go past this point, we’re in uncharted territory. We didn’t go as far as the Heart. Not to my memory anyway.”</p>
    <p>“Well. Onward and upward.” Rae glanced at the stairs, “Or downward, in this case.”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <hr/>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“The Heart of the Black Garden.”</p>
    <p>Fireteam Paralight watched in awe as the Gate Lord Key formed and opened the entrance. “Well, here goes nothing.” Ghost muttered, “Or everything.”</p>
    <p>The entrance opened to reveal an ever-shifting blob of a dark substance within the Guardians’ line of sight. Taking a deep breath, Rae and her team slowly made their way through the entrance onto a ledge. Below were many Vex in what seemed like a ritual with three large statues surrounding the dark mass. “This is like what I saw the last time I was here…” Blaze muttered, “The henge. Their worshipping the Heart.”</p>
    <p>“That blobby thing is the Heart?” Firefly popped up beside Blaze.</p>
    <p>“Stay hidden, Fly. This might get hairy.”</p>
    <p>“Roger dodger!” Firefly chirped, disappearing once more. Suddenly, Rae noticed the Vex below begin to shift and turn to face where the Fireteam were standing on the ledge. “So…” Ghost began nervously, “Think you can kill a God?” Rae let out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself, “Don’t think I have a choice.”</p>
    <p>The Vex got to their feet and began to swarm towards the Guardians. “Well, it’s now or never!” Blaze called out. “Right! Fireteam Paralight, it’s go time!” Rae yelled out as the trio jumped from the ledge, “Stay together! If we split up, they’ll overwhelm us!”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>The Fireteam began striking down Vex as they swarmed towards the Lightbearers. “Firing rocket!” Stormbringer announced as Adam fired a rocket towards a Minotaur, killing it with a precise shot to its centre. “Nice shot, Adam!” Blaze exclaimed, “But check out my new toy!” Blaze then began to shoot down Harpies and Goblins with a machine gun, laughing nervously as she went, “I’m laughing, but I’m actually terrified right now!”</p>
    <p>“Who in the name of Light thought giving her a machine gun was a good idea?!” Rae yelled out as she glided onto a pillar and began to snipe Hobgoblins from a distance. “Don’t look at us.” Stormbringer replied though the comms.</p>
    <p>“Uhh…guys?” Firefly warned with a small whimper, “Are you seeing this?” Rae turned her attention to the three statues. Darkness from the Heart began to shroud the statues and cracks of energy began appearing on them. “The Heart is bringing the statues to life!”</p>
    <p>“Traveller's crack...” Rae cursed under her breath, “I know I said to stay close together, but we can’t take them on all at once. Pick a statue and take it down. Should we fall here…it’s been an honour being on a Fireteam with you guys.”</p>
    <p>“Heh, after all you’ve done for me?” Blaze chuckled over the comms, “The honour's all mine, guys.”</p>
    <p>“Adam and I feel the same.” Stormbringer added. “Alright then.” Rae muttered to herself as she stared at the statue in front of her that came to life and turned to face her.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“Game on.”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p class="italic underline">
      <em>To Be Continued…</em>
    </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. ...Let Light Shine Through</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things have taken a turn for the worse in the Black Garden. The Fireteam are barely standing and it looks like this is the end for our heroes.</p><p>But there are lights that even the Darkness can’t extiguish…</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="italic">
  <em>'D...damn it...'</em>
</p><p>Rae panted as pain surged through her body. The ringing in her ears was almost unbearable. She had been knocked to the ground; her auto-rifle thrown several feet away from her. Her vision was slightly blurry as she tried to look around her. There was only one of the statues remaining, but the team were on their last legs. Adam was struggling to hold back swarms of Goblins and keep his shield up at the same time to protect a downed Blaze, who was battered and bruised with Firefly trying her best to heal her.</p><p>Wait…where…where’s the statue?</p><p>As Rae’s vision began to focus, she saw Blaze desperately reaching out to her, seeming to be yelling something. Rae turned onto her side and her eyes widened upon seeing what stood above her. The statue was looming above her, gun pointed right at her head. Rae was frozen in fear as a million thoughts flew around in her head.</p><p class="italic">
  <em>‘I failed…everyone was counting on me...I gave it everything I had...but it wasn't enough. Everyone...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough...'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry. I’m here.”</p><p>Time almost seemed to slow as the motherly voice entered Rae’s head, “You can’t let your things end here, Starlight. Tell me…why do you fight? Why have you risked so much to be here?”</p><p>“I…I want to protect everyone.” Rae felt the words tumble out without even thinking, “I don’t care about what happens to me. I don't care about what I have to do. I just want to keep the people I care about safe. Please…let me save them…”</p><p>“You don’t need me to do that.” Rae almost heard a smile in the voice, “You've had that strength long before you were even revived. Focus. Close your eyes.”</p><p>Rae did as the voice said and closed her eyes, “The Traveller gave you a piece of its Light when your Ghost revived you. But you were born from my own Light. A Light that preserves life by destroying those who seek to end it. Focus on those who you love and who love you. Focus on those who you wish to protect. Feel the bonds you have with these people fuel that Light and feel it grow and grow.”</p><p>Rae thought about her Ghost, Blaze, Adam, the Vanguard, the Speaker, everyone she had met since she was revived. She felt a warm sensation well up within her chest. It grew bigger…and bigger…until it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Let it out, Starlight.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaze and Adam winced as a sudden plume of bright light shot up from where Rae was lying on the ground. “What’s going on?!” Blaze exclaimed, “What is that?!”</p><p>“Whoa! That’s really bright!” Firefly yelped in surprise. “I've never seen anything like this…” Stormbringer was awestruck, “It feels like Light but…it’s different somehow. I’ve never seen anything like it!”</p><p>The light scattered and disappeared to reveal a familiar figure floating in front of the Vex statue, who had been shielding itself from the light. There was Rae; her eyes had gold sclera and white, glowing pupils. Her markings and the patch of plum hair were also gold. Emanating from her back were two large golden wings with a white outline. She stared at the statue with a glare of intense determination and fury. Rae held out her arm as a blast of golden energy went flying towards the statue. It stumbled back, letting out a horrified, robotic screech as Blaze and Adam just watched on in awe and shock. Rae held her hand out and a falchion appeared in her hand. It had a silver blade, a plum hilt with the depiction of a gold dragon curled around it, and a plum gem at the end within a gold casing. Rae shot up into the air, carried by her gold wings, as she slashed at the statue, the slashes she left glowing gold. The statue cried out in agony before eventually crumpling to the ground, defeated. Rae turned her attention to the Heart. The markings on Rae’s arm began to glow brightly as golden light began to emit from the blade before shooting forth as a golden blast in the shape of a dragon soaring towards the Heart, impacting it with an enormous explosion. The sound rocketed around the three Guardians as a bright light engulfed their vision.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>“…ae…”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“…R…ae…”</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>“</em>...<em>Rae...</em>Rae! Hey, get up!”</p><p>Rae winced as she slowly opened her eyes, now their usual silver colour with the rest of her body back to normal. She saw Blaze and Adam looking down at her with concern. “Mn…Blaze? Adam? W…what happened?” The two Guardian’s expressions shifted from worry to relief. Blaze breathed a sigh of relief, “Geez…don’t scare us like that!” Rae’s vision cleared to see the Martian night sky, “Where are we?”</p><p>“We’re back on Mars.” Ghost replied, hovering beside his Guardian, “After you fired…whatever that was, and destroyed the Heart, the shroud of Darkness lifted and Light returned to the Traveller!”</p><p>Rae’s memories came back to her. That strange voice, the warm feeling in her chest, the strange Light-like power she wielded as she struck down the Vex and the Heart. “We…we won…” Rae muttered in a mix of shock and relief as a smile crept onto her face. Adam nodded with a smile as Blaze chuckled, “Yeah…yeah, we did it!”</p><p>Rae began to laugh in joy and relief as she hugged her teammates, “We won!”</p><p>“Hell yeah!” Blaze cheered as she hugged her best friend back and Adam fist pumped the air. “I don’t want to spoil the moment,” Ghost began, “But the Speaker is calling us home.” Rae nodded as she pulled away from the group hug and glanced between her teammates. “Fireteam Paralight…let’s go home.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>In the Tower Plaza, many Guardians and Tower staff, including the Vanguard and Fireteam Paralight, stood before the Speaker as he delivered a speech, “For centuries we feared the forces of Darkness massing against us. We sought to hide and cower beneath a broken God. No more.” The Speaker motioned to the Guardians of Paralight, “These Guardians show us what we are, what we have always been and what we will be again. We are what remains of the Light…and we will not be stamped out.”</p><p>A cheer erupted from the crowd as everyone began to celebrate, other Guardians congratulating the Fireteam on their victory. “Hey, look at you guys!” Cayde cheered as he, Zavala and Ikora strolled up to the Guardians, “A Fireteam for barely and you’re already big heroes. But don't be afraid to take it easy from time-to-time, yeah? You might make us look bad!”</p><p>“Well done, Guardians.” Zavala nodded, a small smile on his face. Ikora glanced around in confusion, “Has anyone seen Rae?”</p><p>“I thought she was with you.” Blaze replied.</p><p> </p><p>High above the Plaza, Rae entered the Tower Loading Bay to see a familiar figure standing near the edge. “Hey, stranger.” Rae greeted as she walked up beside the female Exo. She gave a nod to Rae as she looked out over the Plaza, “It’s a day for pretty speeches and medals. But we know the real fight takes place out there.”</p><p>“We’ll face it eventually.” Rae replied, a determined smile on her face, “But for now…we celebrate. It’s a first of many steps to healing the Traveller, but a step none the less.”</p><p>“A positive way of thinking…in times like these, it’s hard to see the brighter side. Some would call you naïve for thinking in such a way…but I feel that it’s people like you that wars like these need.” The Exo held out a rifle to Rae, “Take this. There is so much more, Guardian. I’ve seen terrible things born out in the Darkness. Every moment brings them closer.”</p><p>“We’ll be ready.” Rae nodded, accepting the rifle, “Just you wait. The Darkness won’t win.” The Exo looked out into the distance, “All ends are beginnings… Our fight is far from over.” The Exo began to walk off before disappearing in a blue flash. Ghost appeared beside Rae, "We'll be ready though, right?" Rae nodded, "You bet. Nothing can get past me and my Little Light."</p><p>"Ugh, that nickname isn't going away anytime soon, is it?"</p><p>"Nope!"</p><p> </p><p class="bolder">“RAE!!!”</p><p>Rae jumped upon hearing Blaze’s voice from the Plaza below. She looked down to see the Awoken Hunter with Adam and the Vanguard, “Hurry up, hero!! We’re getting ramen and Zavala’s buying!!”</p><p>“Coming!” Rae yelled back as she ran towards the exit of the loading bay. “Do I get a say in this?” Zavala raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so, big blue.” Cayde laughed as he took off towards the City. Zavala just sighed in defeat as he and Ikora followed Cayde into the City, Fireteam Paralight not far behind.</p><p> </p><p class="italic bolder underline">
  <em>End of Into The Garden.</em>
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